I like my New Year’s resolutions to avoid any whiff of self-evaluation. I am already the best at what I do: irritable, controlling, whimsical, hoarding, weird grammatical choices… there is no room for improvement.

As validation that I am doing life extra right, the universe has sent me yet another giant piece of furniture that I do not need… practically for free.

Thanks, universe!

Paul and I were both home… We had an out-of-town event and were planning to leave around noon.

By 11 o’clock, I still hadn’t taken a shower. Or packed. Or generally done any of the things I needed to; but because there is never a time when procrastination is not appropriate, I decided I should look on craigslist.

I already said this in the Victorian Wardrobe post but it bears repeating:
When there is something on Craigslist that you really want, and it is listed for a ridiculously low price, you must contact them correctly.

To stand out from the 400 emails the seller is going to get, you must be the one person who requires nothing. You must be a beacon of simplicity and straightforwardness:

Paul said – you know, we need to leave pretty soon.
And I was like – yes. I know. THIS IS WHY I NEED A CREW.

He looked at the pictures and said – I thought you didn’t like oak?
I said – true. I do not like oak. However? For $50? I REALLY LIKE OAK.

It was not even 10 minutes away— in the loading dock of an office park.

It’s not in perfect shape, but for $50? It’s in FANTASTIC condition.

In the craigslist photos, I could kind of see that something was off about the stacking… if you look above, you can see that there is a thin, chipped board sticking out; but it turned out to be no big deal– at some point they had split up the sections and made a makeshift top.

It’s missing two strips of the decorative molding… one of which we found in a drawer. We’ll hold off on reattaching it until we figure out what side needs to be the “good” side.

54″ tall, 33″ wide, 18” deep

**random transition**

This post has been sitting, (unfinished) for over a month now…

I have tried to end it a couple of ways: speculating on what I might use a 55 drawer card catalog for. Gibberish about repurposing it for the kitchen. Trying to think of new and ridiculous ways to stage it.

But what does it really matter? I’ve acquired it, it is awesome, eventually its purpose will be revealed.
The End.

OR

It will serve no purpose, and it will just take up a giant chunk of space and become yet another unusable area of the house.

Based on my research conducted over the last weeks, this is the likely outcome.

I’ve moved it from room to room to room to room to room… stood back and thought – that does not look right… then after a few days, I start stacking other unused furniture bits on top.

If I reach the ceiling, I win some kind of disorganized/hoarding prize.

Kate, what a great idea! Not too big for me! Since I “make” jewelry, emphasis on the quotation marks, (few and far between, but stunning [stretching to pat self on back] when I finally sit down and actually create), I could use every drawer for bead and finding storage!

I hate AND love you at the same time for this excellent find. This is one large piece of furniture my wife would not mind in our home. All the other large furniture pieces I’ve drug in and out…those are another story.

First. That is amazing. Second. It will indeed be revealed in its glory one day, of that we are all sure. Third. You can tell yourself (and your spouse) that is probably maybe possibly really is ash (which resembles oak in grain and hardness to some degree) if it makes you feel any better. 🙂

So sad that someone removed the legs off of the card catalog. The weirdness in the stacking is possible the loss of the sliding shelf. Did I mention that I’m a librarian?

World’s largest advent calendar? Or pick your own adventure for Halloween treats? Great for address cards or recipe cards. Mine have become warrens for loose change, missing buttons, and old mixed tapes.

I work in a Library and have only run across a few card catalogs. they were all way over priced. But I often thought what I would do is take one to a cabinet maker and have them remove the front and make large drawers and put the front on exactly as it was to look like little drawers. Useable yet somewhat original. Good luck with the cabinet. It could be a work of art!

HAPPY NEW YEAR!!! I think it would be perfect for jewelry, scarves, belts, socks, etc. I would love to have this in my home, oh, wait – I don’t have any place to put it – I envy you, to have 55 drawers to put stuff into (as long as it is not too big) is fabulous. I have so much other furniture family inherited, that if I can find places for all of them in my 1500 sf house I will be doing just fine. Love your blog & look forward to it. Thanks for the pick me up…

I would have grabbed this thing so quickly you would’ve heard the sonic boom from Alaska! I LOVE things with little drawers. I have one that I got at an auction (Dutch Auction, in fact, and I spent a lot more than $50!) that I use both to store my rather large stash of yarn and also to hold the TV at the end of our bed. I have several smaller ones scattered around the house that hold all kinds of odds and ends, and several are stacked to make an end table.